f i r e and i c e
by furiosawrites
Summary: "Everyone is flawed. Beatrice Prior knows this now. But some, are more flawed than others."
1. Chapter 1

_Some say the world will end in fire,_ _s_ _ome say in ice.  
_ _From what I've tasted of desire_ _, I_ _hold with those who  
favo_ _u_ _r fire._ _But if it had to perish twice,_ _I think I know  
enough of hate_ _, t_ _o say that for destruction ice_ _. . . i_ _s also  
great_ _, a_ _nd would suffice_.

— "Fire and Ice," by Robert Frost.

It's when you stare at yourself in the mirror and no longer recognise the person staring back at you, that you know you've changed beyond repair. That no matter how hard you try or what you do, you'd never be able to go back to that person you once were. That person that you didn't hate so much.

There's a clarity in knowing that. In acknowledging it.

Everyone is flawed.

Beatrice Prior knows this now.

But some, are more flawed than others.

 _She_ , was more flawed than any other person Tris knew. Even Eric, who she hated above all things. Most of the time, she just stands there, looking out the small square window in her cell, watching the city she couldn't control carrying on without her, better than it had been before, despite the changes that Evelyn had made once she had risen to power. Jeanine Matthews was smart enough to know that she had been defeated. It was clear in the way that she held herself, the way that she sat there, not saying or doing anything, just waiting for what she knew was to come.

And Tris knew, too.

Someone was going to kill her. Whether it was Evelyn, Tori, or even Four or anyone else that had been hurt by Jeanine and her actions. But Tris... had no wishes to kill Jeanine, and this surprised her. Which was why she'd watch her over the monitor screen for hours on end.

It had only been a week since everything had happened, and she's sure no one had tried anything because after Evelyn had prohibited everyone from leaving out the gate, she had been camping out here. " _Watching the prisoners_ ," when she only had interest in watching Jeanine.

The roles had seemed to have reversed.

She was the one standing on the other side of the glass wall, but Jeanine couldn't see her. Mainly because Tris didn't want her to. Four kept asking her what _she_ wanted to do to Jeanine, and she knew that he meant that if Tris wanted to kill her herself, he would help. But Tris never gave him a straight answer because the truth was, she simply didn't know. She had no idea.

But she knew that she had to do something, soon. Because they weren't going to wait much longer before executing Jeanine.

Not that she didn't deserve it but...

She jumped in her chair when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning around to find Cristina standing behind her with a small smile on her lips. "Hey. Four told me you'd be up here, on Jeanine duty." Her dark eyes moved to the monitor and she frowned, leaning forward, towards the screen. "What the hell is she doing?" Tris' eyes moved to the monitor as well, and she couldn't help a small smile.

"I don't know. Plotting world domination again. Or just thinking of different ways to kill herself before someone else gets to her."

That was her poor attempt at humour, and despite her laugh, she knew Cristina didn't really buy it. A moment of silence followed, and she heard the scratching of metal against the floor as Cristina pulled up a chair besides Tris, and she sat up straighter, clearing her throat as she ran a hand through her short blonde hair, turning to smile at her friend. Who she could still see hadn't fully forgiven her for Will's death. Just as Tris, hadn't fully forgiven herself.

"What are you really doing here, Tris? What is your... obsession with her? We're all worried. Especially Four."

Tris sighed. Of course her boyfriend would be worried about her. She barely ate or slept, and most of the time that she had she spent up here. She'd be worried, if she were Four, as well. But Tris didn't have any solid answer or explanation to give him, or anyone. She just... didn't know, why it was so important to keep watch on Jeanine, why she didn't want her to be killed.

"Honestly? I have no idea, Cristina. I just know that... actually, I don't know anything. When I figure it out, you'll be the first one to know. Well, the second," she smiled, and Cristina seemed somewhat satisfied for now, nodding her head and patting her shoulder before standing up. "Come on, then. Everyone's eating downstairs. Actual food, not this bullshit balanced diet crap they have here at Erudite."

Tris eyes moved to the screen, and Jeanine had moved to sit down on her bed, staring at the wall. She wasn't going to go anywhere, so after thinking over it, biting her lower lip, and hearing her stomach growl once, she got up and followed Cristina outside the door, hearing to her babble on and on about everything that was going on that Tris apparently was really not keeping up with. Not that she didn't care or wasn't interested, but she had other things on her mind. Other... blue and blonde things. But she wouldn't dare voice these thoughts even to Cristina, who she now deemed her best friend, despite everything that had happened... despite Tris being forced to kill her best friend's boyfriend.

As they reached the canteen on the lower floor, she saw Four, Tori and a few of the others sat at the end of the huge table they had placed on the spacious room. The benches were filled with people, eating, drinking, laughing, much like what she used to say back at Dauntless, and she smiled, because half of the population now occupying Erudite were Dauntless. The other half were Factionless, although she assumes they weren't called that any more. Factions didn't exist, any more. The whole system went down with Jeanine.

She took a seat by Four's side, and Cristina sat next to her. "You okay?" Four looked at her with that intense gaze of his, and Tris nodded her head, offering him an easy smile. She always felt naked under his eyes, like he could see inside of her, but she decided to not say anything else. She didn't want to have another heated discussion over what her next course of action could be.

No, now, Tris just wanted to eat some good food and talk with her friends.

Forget about things, for a while. And things, she meant Jeanine. Because she had learned to live with... everything else, that had plagued her. She knew that she did the best she could, and her parent's death weren't totally her fault, and even if she had shot Will, his death was... an accident. A tragedy of what had happened. He was under the serum, and he was shooting at her and her mother. What else could she have done? But these things... they didn't bother her the way they did a month ago. She's no as tortured as she was. But that doesn't mean she's healed, or whole. She could pretend to be, at least for now, not to worry her friends and loved ones.

The only family she had left was Caleb, and she made sure that Evelyn wouldn't kill him. She talked to Four about it, and they had a plan to get Caleb out and leave Chicago to go see what was waiting for them beyond the Wall. But not yet. It wasn't the right time, yet. They were going to wait until the trials began.

"Any news? On anything?" She looked around the table, or their small circle of people, taking a small bite from the burger in front of her.

* * *

For the first time in what felt like forever, Tris actually had a nice meal.

She succeeded in distracting her mind from Jeanine and everything once for the hour she had spent eating and talking to her friends... she almost felt normal in that hour.

But of course, Tris Prior and normal don't go together.

As she and Four were returning up to the control room, she saw guards running up to where the cells were. She and Four exchanged a look, before the both of them jogged to catch up. Evelyn was talking to Bryan at the door of Jeanine's cell, which was... open. Her heart stopped beating for a moment, her hand resting against the wall. She must have gone pale because the whole world flipped upside down.

Four reached to grab her arm, looking worriedly at her. "Tris? Tris! Are you okay?"

Looking to meet his dark eyes, slowly, she felt air coming into her lungs again, and she nodded her head weakly, grabbing hold of Four's strong arm to balance herself. Four wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her to where Evelyn was with the others, and just as she had suspected, Jeanine's cell was empty. All that was left was the ugly dress they had made her wear, draped very meticulously over her bed.

Four started asking Evelyn questions, but Tris didn't listen. She let go of Four and walked towards the cell, reaching to grab Jeanine's dress with both hands. Her eyes shut for a minute and she could almost see her pacing in her room, impatient. Day after day. Who knows what ever went on inside that brain of hers?

The smartest person in Chicago... did they really think they could keep her here forever? No. Evelyn had to be smarter than that.

Or maybe she just underestimated Jeanine.

But Tris? Tris never head. Which was why she spent her time watching over her.

She turned to Evelyn and Four, who were both looking at her with a funny look on their faces. "She's had help from someone from the inside. They knew I was gone. They... do you trust everyone that works for you?" The question was directed at Evelyn as she walked past her and Four, and even if Four kept calling her name, she kept walking straight forward with Jeanine's dress still in her hands.

No matter what, she had to find her. The good thing was... she already had an idea of where she was.

If anyone was going to get their hands on Jeanine after this, it definitely was going to be her. Not Evelyn, not any of her bloodthirsty, brainwashed men. No. It was going to be her, and she was going to get the justice she wanted to have so badly... just how she was going to have that, though? That was... that was the mystery. But that didn't matter, she was going to find a way. She was, after all, one hundred percent Divergent. She has a little bit of everyone inside of her, doesn't she? This would be useful, now. She had to be smart like an Erudite, agile like a Dauntless. And well... Candor wasn't going to be on the list.

Tris packed a bag with supplies and weapons, got her gear ready, and left it all in a closet no one used, locking the door and shoving the key inside her bra, as she went by her day as normally as she could. She had dinner with Four and the others, pretended everything was fine and even back to bed with Four. She laid down next to him, let him hold her as her mind raced and raced and raced...

And when Four was fast asleep, she slipped away, off the bed, grabbed her shoes, and dressed to leave. She stopped at the door, turned to watch the rise and fall of his chest as he slept peacefully on the bed, his arm still draped over the now empty space of her on the bed.

Her heart ached, of course it did.

This was the second time she left him like this, in the middle of the night, without any sort of explanation. But this was only because she knew that he wouldn't understand, she knew that he would try to stop her, or come with her. And she couldn't have any of these things. She had to do this by herself. She has to find Jeanine and punish her, by herself. Whatever this... rivalry between the two of them meant, she had to carry it out before it ate her up.

She grabbed her gear, put it on, secured her bag on her chest and arms, and left the building. It was surprisingly easy to sneak out one of the lower floor windows and climb down; she wasn't afraid of heights. She wasn't afraid of anything any more, not even dying.

Once her feet were on the ground, though, it was harder to hide. The guards surrounding Erudite seemed to be a lot more aware than the ones inside.

Smart of them, maybe.

In the time she had spent in the control room, she had gone through files and files, studied things about Erudite. They had been working on this prototype. A motorbike, as she had read it. She had seen it before on History books, about the way the world was before. They were considered dangerous, but fast. Tris saw this prototype for something that was a bike, only it floated above ground. It was fast, fast than the cars and the vehicles the Dauntless used for surveillance. It made moving through the ruined city a lot faster, and smoother. They were silent, the motor was designed to not produce any sort of sound, and the lack of wheels helped in the regard, too.

Tris knew where the prototype was kept, and she had to sneak in the garage. That was easier than she imagined.

Passing the car she had stolen from Evelyn earlier, she rolled inside of the room and the lights turned on. It was a huge warehouse type of room, with all sorts of things displayed. From different looking cars to weapons and clothes. She was studying a gun and head gear as a robotic female voice greeting her: " _Welcome, Evelyn Eaton. What would you like to see this evening?_ "

Tris stared at the walls, looking for a hologram or a speaker or anything... she cleared her throat, and tried to imitate Evelyn's voice as best as she could.

"Prototype 12460."

Suddenly, two trap doors on the floor slid open and a platform started to rise, and on top of the platform, stood three motorbikes. They didn't have a name yet. But they were beautiful. One was red, the other was blue, and the other was black. They were sleek looking, with beautiful handles. They looked sleek, and light, and Tris already fell in love with the black one. She reached to touch it. The metal felt smooth and cold against her fingertips.

"Is this prototype ready for use?"

The computer replied: "Prototype has not yet been tested outside, but lab tests have all proven successful. Would you like me to tell you how to run it, Evelyn Eaton?"

Tris nodded her head, and climbed on top of the bike before grabbing two guns, as much ammo as she could fit inside her bag, and the head gear. One that helped her see in the dark, and the other one helped her vision. "Let's see how this runs."

A while spent in the room learning how the bike worked, and she got the hang of it, despite not knowing how to drive even a car. It was like... riding a bicycle. But... deadlier. "Open the door," she gave the command to the computer through the monitor on the glasses surrounding the handle of the bike. There was a little screen of commands and controls on the upper part where she half leaned, the seat was incredibly comfortable, and the handles controlled speed, landing, and there were a few other things, too. A shield of protection and guns that slid out from a compartment at the front of rear. It was incredible.

The door opened, and as the guards started to notice it, she was already speeding past them, five feet off the ground and going twice as fast as the train did. She let out an excited scream as she felt the wind against her face, raising one hand up in the air before she disappeared from their camp of vision, entering one of the dark streets. Lights were out, and it was just her and... whatever lurked at the corners of Chicago at night.

Part of her had no idea where to go, but...

If she was Jeanine, and if she was running from people who were dumber than her, she would go exactly where they would look for her first, because they'd think she'd be too smart to go there, and they'd go look elsewhere. By the time they'd realise that, she'd already be somewhere secure.

Her instinct, as well as her brain, told her where Jeanine would be.

"Take me to Abnegation." She spoke to the computer, and it showed a path, as well as give her directions on how to get _home_.

* * *

 **A/N** : I re-watched Insurgent this afternoon and got this idea in my head and I couldn't not do something about it! Especially because I haven't updated inconclusive O and for that I am sorry, dear readers. I SUCK. But anyhow! I will try to work on those very soon, I promise. Hopefully working on this new fic will inspire me!

Please feel free to come chat to me on Twitter: **stagwithin** or Tumblr: **stagwithin**! And please, comment below. I'd love to hear what you lot think about this one.


	2. Chapter 2

Chicago looked a lot different at night.

There was something comforting about the destroyed, empty streets, about the silence that followed her every turn she made. She's always wondered what it must have been like three or four centuries ago, before the war, when everything seemed much simpler. From the pictures she got to see and study at school, she could tell that life was a lot easier than it is now. Well, life wasn't meant to be difficult. The Factions System was meant to make everything easier but really, it didn't.

Not that it didn't work for a while... but nothing ever lasts forever, and it didn't take long before power started to get to people's heads. People like Jeanine, for example. But she was just the top of the pyramid. Evelyn was a Jeanine in the making. If only she had known... but truthfully, how could she? Yet, she still feels responsible. She still feels that she should have done something.

Maybe Four was right, and she ought to have taken her role as one of the leaders of this new, Factionless world... but Tris had never wanted power. She wanted a great deal of things, but she didn't want power. She wanted peace without struggle, she wanted to have a normal life, or as normal as she could get to, anyway.

But even now, when she's here alone in the darkness with nothing but the computer in front of her guiding her to what was left of her home, she felt as if she could never achieve what she wanted.

There would be war.

No matter how much she tried to prevent it. There would be no peace without struggle, and somehow, she felt like Jeanine still had a part to play in all of this. And that, she keeps telling herself, is why she's here. That is why she's so determined to find her. It's not because she wants to kill her... Tris is smart enough to admit that to herself. If she wanted Jeanine killed, she would've gone it the minute Chicago was freed from her grasps. But instead she watched Jeanine, subconsciously protecting her from Evelyn and all the countless enemies she had made in Chicago. But what had escaped everyone's mind, apparently, was the fact that she also had _friends_.

Jeanine was who she was for more than just her intelligence. She knew how to manipulate people, and she knew how to exploit those who wanted the same as her. The ones who believed that Divergents were the root of all evil, that what they were doing, what Jeanine planned on doing, was after all, going to save them. Some sort of humanitarian mission.

It was ridiculous, but perhaps that was what made Jeanine so powerful.

The fact that she believed that what she was doing was right. That the countless deaths she was accountable for were all for the _greater good_. And surprisingly, even if Jeanine was the one to blame for her parent's death, Tris felt sorry for her. Sorry that she couldn't see just how wrong she was, even if now she knew the truth.

And yet again, she finds her mind occupied by nothing other than Jeanine Matthews... like a virus that refuses to leave her system. And that is how most of the trip goes, her mind racing about Jeanine and about what she was going to do once she found Jeanine... but all of that was wiped away when she finally arrived at her destination.

The little computer voice announced: "You have arrived at your destination."

Her heart stopped, as she pulled back, lowering the bike until her feet touched the ground and she took it all in.

When she had left Abnegation with Four, it had been chaotic, at best. She remembers seeing the images in the lab where they were controlling the Dauntless. But this... what she's seeing now... Tris removes the head gear and the helmet she had been wearing, tears pooling in her eyes.

This had once been her home, not long ago. Part of her still felt like it was. That no matter what she did or how much shit she went through, she'd always be Abnegation at heart. She had learned to embrace that side of her, as small as it sometimes was. And it was all gone, now. Most of it had been bombed away, burned, destroyed. There was little left, except ghosts of houses, of families, or memories. She grabbed her pack and started walking, her hands covering her mouth as she spotted... decaying corpses against destroyed walls, and it looked more like a nightmare than anything else.

She supposes that this was what the people who had known the world before the war would have felt if they walked into Chicago and what remained of the great city, now.

It hits her hard, harder than it should, and she has to take a minute, lean up against a wall and try not to freak out too much. But that was easier said than done, right now. She kept thinking of her parents, of Caleb. Of the easy life she had before everything had happened, before she had chosen Dauntless... but if she had stayed in Abnegation... she would have ended up dead, too, she's sure of it.

And the scariest thing is that she doesn't really mind that possibility.

After a few minutes, she shuts her eyes and allows hatred and anger that makes her incredibly focus to take over her, so she can start hunting. The head gear was put on again, so she could see heat signs in the dark, the way that animals did, before.

Jeanine was really, really smart.

Tris doubts that anyone would think to come looking for her here, out of all places. Jeanine had destroyed Abnegation after all, and there was nothing left, in here, yet it seemed like the perfect place for her to hide until she found something better, and Tris knew, she would find something better. There were a lot of places in Chicago no one knew about. Places that Jeanine, no doubt, did. But here... here is where she would hide.

And Tris freezes for a moment as she hears faint voices coming from one house. One of few houses that were still standing. Damaged, yes, but still standing.

It was her house.

The house she had grown up in.

And Jeanine was in there.

She knew that it was Jeanine. The Factionless were Evelyn's people know, and they were all living in Erudite. It had to be her. Something inside of Tris told her that it was _her._ And she wasn't alone. She wouldn't be, of course. By herself, she was completely defenceless... that much had been proven to Tris when she had easily overcome Jeanine before. She still wears a bandage wrapped around her hand, and no doubt she'll have a nasty scar to show for it.

The day a Divergent stabbed her hand.

It would be funny, if it weren't.

There were too many things on the way for her to get an accurate reading of how many people were inside the house, but she could tell that there were at least... three, whether Jeanine was one of these three or not, she couldn't tell.

And she wouldn't be able to, until she attacked. But she couldn't go on like that, she needed some kind of plan. She was outnumbered... but, she knew her house better than Jeanine and whoever was with her did, and that would be her advantage in this. Throwing the strap of her gun over her shoulder, she climbed up the back of the house to the roof, and opened the service hatch door before quietly sliding through, shutting it behind her, and landing quietly on the ground of the attic, listening in to any movements nearby.

But she was alone in this floor, which was good.

With her smaller gun in hand, she slowly made her way out of the attic, taking deep breaths in and ignoring the urge to stop and drink in the memories all around her, screaming at her. This place had been her home. She could see places where she and Caleb would play, when they were younger. Places she had laughed and wept at. Places her mother had hugged and held her, places her father had told her stories and sung her to sleep. Places where she had been happy, for she had had a happy childhood. Parents that loved her, a loving brother.

How did it all go wrong?

But that wasn't her focus right now, and Tris had been well-trained. Well, more sort of forced into training through experience. She stopped at the stairs, where she could make out some of the voices better.

"...you can't expect her to stay here forever! This place is a wreck! It smells like death in here, not to mention, we can't even fucking use hot water or electricity because that would bring attention to us! You promised us a better life, Jeanine. This is not better living."

A male voice, one she didn't recognise. "He's right. We have to move, soon." That was a female, older.

"Listen to you two fucking whiners-" A third man began, but he was cut off by that voice Tris was so familiar to. Sometimes she'd hear that voice speak to her inside of her head, that cold, calm voice.

"I don't think any of you understand your role in this. Did you expect this to be easy? They want my head, and they won't stop hunting me or anyone associated with me. If you're not happy and you think you'll be able to find something better by yourself, please, do try. Send me a postcard once you find this house with hot water and electricity that won't lead Evelyn and her rats to you."

That was Jeanine, alright. A tired sounding Jeanine, but Jeanine, nonetheless.

She could take three people. She was armed, agile, and strong. She had survived through worse odds. It was all about waiting for the right time...

But she didn't have to wait long. Not even half an hour after that little conversation they had exchanged, she kept listening to the three people talking between themselves, but Jeanine was quiet, and Tris knew she was still in the room. She'd be smart not to risk to go anywhere, even if it's another room of the house, by herself... but, soon enough, she heard one of the men say he was coming up to the bathroom, and that was when Tris got ready.

As he came up the stairs, reaching the top, she wheeled herself onto her hands and flipped him over by wrapping her angles around his head. He was bigger than her, so she had to act quick. Be faster than him. Hit him before he knows what's happening. She leaned forward, and started hitting him on the head with her elbow. She only needed to do it twice, before he went out, and she made sure he didn't make much noise as he fell on the floor.

And now she was faced with a choice: he was unconscious, but still alive. And he was Dauntless. So she had to either kill him, or leave him be.

If she didn't kill him now...

But she had time to do it later, so she tied him up with a few things she found in what remained of her home, and locked him inside the bathroom.

One down, two to go.

* * *

Killing people didn't come that easy to Tris, but if she had absolutely no choice... she could do it. And somehow live with herself. These people weren't good people, or so she tells herself, but she could at least give them a chance. Tell them they could run away and find a way of getting back to something instead of killing them, that Jeanine wasn't worth it, but could she trust them that way?

Maybe she could, maybe not.

But either way, she had to take care of the woman and the other man that were still downstairs with Jeanine, and she had to move now, before Jeanine got suspicious. If she got suspicious, she'd flee, and then Tris could lose her again.

So she started down the flight of stairs, as quiet as she could manage, avoiding the steps which she knew would creek the loudest. They were all in the kitchen now, so the room where we'd sit by the fireplace on cold winter nights was empty. She took a deep breath in, and got ready to move towards the kitchen, but that was when she saw the other man standing there, smiling down at her with pearly white, scarily sharp teeth.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Tris fucking Prior."

Fuck.

"I seem to be at an disadvantage... I have no idea who you are." He laughed at her, shaking his head as they started circling each other, naturally, the way that animals used to threaten each other before attacking... before, her gun in hand. He had one in his hand, too. So it was a fair fight. Aside from the fact he had at least sixty pounds on her. But she had taken down men stronger than that... hadn't she?

"Isn't that just peachy," he smacked his lips, before grinning again. Tris found it very, very creepy. "You always thought you were a special fucking snowflake, didn't you?"

No, she wants to say, but he reaches for her with a knife that came out of nowhere and she dodges by an inch. "Fucking everything up with your righteousness!" He tried to stab her again, but Tris rolled onto the floor and swept him off his feet with her legs, and before she knew it they were both throwing punches and trying to take each other down. He was bigger and stronger, but she was faster, and despite her nose bleeding, she was wearing him out, until he got too tired, and she tackled him down, gun pointed at his head.

Her finger was on the trigger. "I don't want to kill you."

"Oh, but _I_ do."

She looked up to find the woman with the gun pointed at Tris, and Jeanine was nowhere to be seen. _Shit_. She had only a minute to think, before the woman shot at her and she rolled to the ground besides the big man, who was shot on the side of his head. Better him than her, she tells herself as she stares at his empty face, blood splattered all over her own. As she jumped to her feet, she saw Jeanine running out of the house in her heels and the dress she had worn the day she had been arrested, and Tris didn't have time to play any more.

But the woman wanted to play, and she was good. Almost better than Tris. But not quite.

* * *

Another gunshot, and then she was racing outside the door with the gun in hand, running after Jeanine. She chased her to the bike, which she was just about to hop on before Tris jumped on her and tackled her to the ground with such force, the impact knocked the air out of both of their lungs.

Jeanine was grunting underneath her, and Tris was bleeding and bled on, breathless and sore all over. There were two bodies back in her house, and a guy who was unconscious on her bathroom.

"Maybe you are as _Dauntless_ as you try to be, **Beatrice** ," Jeanine choked the words at her, and Tris laughed. She laughed, hoarse and in between coughs, as she rolled to lay on the mud besides Jeanine, staring up at the starry sky.

"You're not going to run again, are you?"

Jeanine coughed, groaned a bit more. "No. I don't think I could. I'm not trained for such things."

"I'd have to shoot you otherwise..."

A laugh was her response.

"Wouldn't you love that, _Beatrice._ "

* * *

 **A/N** : I suck at writing action scenes but hey, I tried.


End file.
